declaration of war

As a practical matter, the Constitution may not be able to prevent an overly adventurous president from enmeshing us in conflicts against our interests. But congressional war powers can still have much to say about the legitimacy of the use of force, and therefore about its extent and duration. Moreover, where the use of force is clearly in America’s vital interests, congressional war powers — used to issue a powerful endorsement of a clear, necessary mission — can help us achieve something that has eluded us since 1945: victory.

The real estate mogul said fighting terrorism isn’t the same as traditional war, noting that terrorists don’t wear uniforms and battling extremists isn’t the same as going against a country like Germany or Japan.

Unless Speaker Boehner calls the House back into session to prevent President Obama from usurping Congress’s constitutional authority to authorize – or not authorize – the use of military force in Syria, Speaker Boehner may go down in history as the Speaker who stood by and did nothing while an understanding of the Constitution that has stood since George Washington was President was vaporized by the cruise missiles Barack Obama is preparing to rain down on Syria.

In Speaker Boehner's hands rests the decision on whether Congress will come back into session and remain a coequal branch of government by maintaining its power to authorize—or not authorize—the use of military force in Syria. If he fails to act, Congress will be relegated to the status of a mere appendage of the Executive, used only to levy taxes and rubber stamp the decisions of an imperial president.

Daniel Pipes is exactly right on this.“Warfare is a very serious business whose first imperative is to deploy force to win – rather than to punish, make a statement, establish a symbolic point, or preen about one's morality.”